On March 8, Christian collegians gathered at New Life Community Church in Artesia, California to attend SOLA Conference, an annual conference for college students hosted by a partnership of four local churches. In the breakout sessions, many speakers continued on the topic of “Becoming What We Behold” in different aspects of the Christian walk. One such breakout session was “Faith and Our Future” led by Dr. Danny Kim, who is currently the Principal of Corona High School.

This session was relevant to many of the collegians attending the event as it dealt with the theme of career and calling. The descriptions according to the SOLA Conference booklet read: “In this session, we explore life after college seen through first-hand perspective of a Christian aiming to live life as God desires in the education field. Learn practical, Biblically-based principles on how we can aim to align our career aspirations with God’s goals for us.”

Dr. Kim began with the three questions: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “Why do you want to pursue this?” and “How do you know if this is God’s plan for you?” All in an attempt to help the collegians clear up their callings or align their future aspirations with God’s plan.

Dr. Kim began by explaining his experience during college, when he was not too certain about his life after graduation as well. “It is okay to lack certainty in what one wants to do in post-college life,” he said. He spoke of his many passions, one of which was going into ministry. However, after being counseled by his pastor and also taking steps into the real world, Dr. Kim decided to go into the field of education. He spoke of how he never regretted after he entered the field of education but found his profession worthwhile.

1. All work is God’s work (1 Corinthians 10:31). “Understand the role of God in the professions. If God is pre-eminent in my life, then God takes a significant role in a career,” Dr. Kim said. “Whatever you pursue, have freedom to pursue it as long as you remain in the ethical, moral boundaries of Christianity.” Dr. Kim wanted the collegians to see that whatever work that we do, we can all do it to glorify God.

2. Trust God when wandering in the post-college desert. Dr. Kim gave examples of how many friends he knew that had left faith after their graduation from college because they could not land a job. He wanted to give the collegians hope that career is not everything and that, even after graduation, we must remain faithful to God.

3. Be in your element – Choose something you are passionate about and you are good at.

4. Love the people you serve and work with, and thank God they’re not all like you. Dr. Kim showed us a picture of the staff that he worked with – diverse ethnically and personality-wise. He explained how the staffs were all wired differently and this helped to solve problems that he could not have solved by himself.

5. Whatever you do, do it with joy. Or quit. “Don’t be a witness who complains and grumbles,” Dr. Kim said.

6. Create hope in a world in need of hope. Dr. Kim described two stories. One was about the school’s prom and how there was a football player who decided to take another student who is in special education. He shared another incident in which one of the pregnant teenagers from the high school thanked Dr. Kim for being so kind-hearted in treating her child in a very pleasant manner.

8. Pray daily for wisdom and discernment. “There is no manual for accidents in life. Thus, pray for supernatural wisdom,” Dr. Kim said. He told his story of the time when he really needed supernatural wisdom when some of the students from his school passed away from an automobile accident.

9. Share the gospel. Dr. Kim shared the incident in which one of the teachers at his school faced one troublesome student. Feeling compassion, the teacher decided she wanted to share the gospel to this kid. In one counseling session, the teacher invited the student to attend the local church that she was attending. The student started going and he was even baptized. “In an industry where you can’t, how might you share the gospel to the people you are influencing?” Dr. Kim asked.

10. Love and serve God’s bride. “Be even more involved in church after the college years,” Dr. Kim said.

After the lecture, Dr. Kim opened up for a time of discussion amongst the peers and encouraged the collegians to continue pursuing the holy calling in professions and careers.

Joo Heon Lee is a volunteer student writer from the University of California, Irvine.